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| Emily Elizabeth Weldon Bowker |
Continued...
The most poignant letter, and the last preserved of Lewis Bowker, was one to his wife, Emily. Dated January 11th, 1862, it came from the field hospital and its handwriting was much more chaotic and hurried than all the letters before. Lewis was sick, very sick.
He dated his letter 1862, not remembering that the new year had come in.
Six days later, on January 17th, 1863, Lewis Bowker died of typhoid fever in the field hospital at Bowling Green, Kentucky.
"Bowling Green Ky Jan 11th 1862
Dear Wife
You will think strange when I tell you that I am lying in a hospital and have been quite sick but am getting better
Last Christmas I was taken with a severe headache not only headache but sore head
every move made it jump
It kept so until I came here
I got some medicine downtown but could not get it regular
I thought I would (carry?) to this Hospital
I have been quite sick but the fever is broke now and I think I will be around in a few days
I received 4 letters from Farmer yesterday two from you and one from R. I. Gibbons Mother
They appear to enjoy themselves first rate
Em I wish you would go and see them often
I am glad to hear that you keep as well as you and (fleashy?)
I hope you will continue to enjoy yourself
Do not worry about me for my fever is broke and I think I will be around in 4 o 5
I come here the 5th
The Rebbles have burned a bridge and tore up the track between here and Louisville so it has botherd the mail some
I should have written to you more but I did not know as I could send it bot the mail comes by boat now
you must all write often for it is difficult for me to write you can see that
Some of the boys stay with me every night
I think they are very kind and I shall remember them for it
I suppose ?? and Mary are with you by this time which I guess will make a house full pretty near
but I suppose they will have (most?) of their new house dont now soon
But I must stop for I am week
write often all of you
direct as usual
Box 114 Bowling Green Ky
From Your Husband
L. G. Bowker"
One of the mysteries of Lewis G. Bowker is his burial. The source used by www.findagrave.com for Lewis stated that the monument in Farmer Cemetery was a cenotaph, a memorial stone only, meaning that his body was buried elsewhere.
However, several clues seemed to conflict with that conclusion. The first is the burial of Emily Bowker. She chose to be buried with her husband in Farmer Cemetery in 1933.
The second clue was a letter written by James Cleland, a local soldier who knew Bowker and was privy to arrangements concerning his body. He wrote a letter home on January 19, 1863, just two days after Lewis died.
"Fort Baker, Kentucky
January 19, 1863
...I suppose you have heard before this of the death of Sergeant Lewis G. Bowker, as it was telegraphed home. They would have sent the corpse home but they could not raise money enough. It required thirty dollars. They got a dispatch yesterday in answer to the one sent home from Foot. He said to send him home and they would pay the expense. He will be took up tomorrow morning and sent, or that is the intention now."
Letter from Corp. John Cleland to his sister, Mary Jane, "Jennie," Cleland.
One might conclude that the "Foot" mentioned in the letter was the man that Lewis boarded with - a wealthy man for his time, having his real estate valued at over $9000 in 1860, and his personal goods at the same valuation. He could have afforded to get Lewis's body home.
So the question of the location of Lewis Bowker's burial still exists. Is he buried in Farmer Cemetery or in Bowling Green, Kentucky?
Emily Bowker applied for her much needed pension as soon as she could and received it for many, many years, as she never remarried.
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| G.A.R. memorial ribbon, Lew Bowker Post, Farmer, found among the possessions of Hiram F. Rice |
Emily spent her years with her one and only daughter, Louie Alice, who eventually married Robert Ensign. They all moved to Trumbull County about 1908. Emily's 90th birthday party was reported in the local newspaper on January 18, 1933:
Emily Bowker died not long after her birthday on February 3, 1933. She was brought back home to Farmer for her burial. The Crescent-News ran several obituaries.
February 2, 1933 -
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| Farmer Cemetery |
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